‘Taken from our recent seminar, ‘Erasure, Remediation and Rights of Appeal in Disciplinary Proceedings’, Mathew Barnes asks the question in his talk about remediation – Can you teach an old dog new tricks?’

‘A young child was left with life-long injuries after a council missed opportunities to protect him from his mother’s violent partner, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation has found.’

‘Hannah Gomersall, barrister at Coram Chambers, explores the proposed reforms set out in the government’s Domestic Abuse Bill: its scope, workability and whether the Family Court will be able to cope with the ensuing workload.’

‘Domestic abuse is endemic in UK society. The law’s response has consisted of sporadic police prosecutions, a Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (rarely used), and uncoordinated remedies in family proceedings mostly under Family Law Act 1996 Part 4 (the non-molestation and the occupation order). Each is governed by a different set of procedural rules; and different means of enforcement. Views vary as to what is the legal definition of ‘domestic violence’ – still used by the Legal Aid Agency: see Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 – and ‘domestic abuse’, which is now defined by a family proceedings practice direction which deals only with children proceedings (yes, really): Family Procedure Rules 2010 PD12J.’

‘For many people, receiving a jail sentence would be the worst thing that ever happened to them. But when you’ve been experiencing domestic abuse – as most female prisoners have – you may see things slightly differently.’

‘A woman who claimed on Facebook that her ex-husband tried to strangle her is set to fight a judge’s ruling that she is guilty of defamation because he wasn’t trying to kill her. Nicola Stocker, 51, will argue before the Supreme Court that she had used common language to describe the attack by her millionaire ex-husband, for which he was arrested, when talking to his new lover.’

‘Domestic abuse hurts children, whether they are the direct target, or find themselves witness to warfare in their home. The latest government figures show that half of all children assessed as needing social services support are in that plight through domestic abuse – and when social workers feel a child is no longer safe at home, they can be removed into the care system. This means being taken away from their mothers – typically the victim in all this. But she’s not usually the one being violent. Most often, it’s the children’s father or stepfather who is. As rates of reported domestic abuse soar – incidents sufficiently serious to be recorded by police as crimes rose 5% between 2016 and 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics – it’s estimated by the charity Safe Lives that 130,000 children live in households with “high‑risk” domestic abuse. So why are victims investigated by social services, rather than the perpetrators who cause such physical and mental harm?’

‘Hannah Swirsky, Campaigns Officer at René Cassin, outlines why the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a time for celebration, but also for remembrance of the unsung role of women in the Declaration, and, realising their legacies today.’